


Homework and School Talk

by Kujo1597



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, And I feel like sometimes there's stuff you don't want to talk to a parent about, Gen, I just love the idea of Peridot and Connie becoming friends, Two nerds talking about school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 15:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11383116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kujo1597/pseuds/Kujo1597
Summary: Even the best student needs help sometimes. Thankfully when you’re friends with Steven Universe you meet lots of people willing to help.The usual aides were busy so Connie asked one of the newest friends of Steven’s, Peridot. A very nice intelligent woman who was just calming to be around.And she also has a decent amount in common with Connie which makes her easy to talk to.*This takes place in the universe of my human AU but it's not really tied to anything





	Homework and School Talk

“Thanks again for helping me at the last minute,” Connie said as she put her school supplies on the kitchen table next to Peridot’s laptop.

She usually got help from Pearl or her parents but they were all busy.

“It’s no problem at all,” thankfully Peridot was almost always free. She set down the drinks then started typing away. “Remember, if you need anything, just ask me.”

“Yes ma’am,” came Connie’s automatic response.

After a half-hour of the only sounds being the taps on a keyboard and the scratching of a pencil, Connie found herself still having some trouble with a couple questions.

She stared at Peridot who was typing so fast that her fingers were a blur.

The woman looked so busy.

“Do you need any help?” Peridot asked, sensing Connie’s gaze. 

“Oh, uh, well ma’am, there’s this one concept I can’t seem to grasp,” Connie pointed at some math questions.

Peridot stopped her work and took a good look at them. “This is a tough one. I had some trouble with it myself.” Peridot got up and grabbed some printer paper. “Perhaps a visual will help.”

She drew diagrams and carefully went over them asking Connie if she understood and got her to explain a few times as well. Eventually Connie got it and filled in the answers on her homework. After getting Peridot to check her work they both went back to their tasks.

“Ma’am?”

“You don’t need to call me that, in fact, I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

“Oh, right, Peridot?”

“Yes, Connie?”

“Do you think you can play some music? Sometimes I find it easier to work with a little noise.”

“I’m the same way,” Peridot opened the music folder on her laptop then turned it around for Connie to see. “Take your pick.”

“I,” Connie looked through all the folders, “don’t know any of these.”

Peridot chuckled. “Yeah, my tastes are a bit odd. Okay, I personally find calming RPG music helpful when I need to concentrate. And it’s also easy to talk over.” Peridot opened a folder labeled ‘Tales of Symphonia Chronicles OST Disc 1’ and started the soundtrack from the beginning. Nice peaceful orchestral music filled the air. “If you want me to play something else, just tell me.”

“No, this is fine. Thank you ma’Peridot.”

Taps and scratches blended in with the music. Before they knew it the first CD had reached the end.

“I think it’s about time we took a snack break,” Peridot said as she stretched her back. “I baked chocolate chip cookies earlier. Would you like a couple? Or would you prefer fruit?”

“Fruit please, do you have any apples?” Connie had debated eating a cookie but her mom says that fruit is more conducive to studying.

“You know what they say about apples, right?” Peridot started telling a joke.

One that Connie’s heard a million times. “That they keep the doctor away.”

Peridot frowned. “Yeah, I guess that is a really obvious one.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I did find it funny the first couple times.”

Peridot gathered up the snacks, two cookies for herself, and a nice pink lady apple for Connie.

As they ate Connie couldn’t help looking at Peridot. She took in Peridot’s tall spiky hair, gauges, and the split in her tongue.

“You look like you want to ask me something,” Peridot said.

“It’s kind of personal.”

“That’s fine.”

“Hm,” Connie wasn’t sure how exactly to ask it; Peridot’s sharp silver eyes made her a bit intimidating at times. “So why did you decide to modify your body? We’re always being told to not judge a book by its cover but let’s be honest, doing so is human nature. And… well…”

“My mods don’t match up with how people expect a nerd to look,” Peridot completed the statement.

“Well, I was going to say that your appearance belies the fact that you’re very kind and intelligent. But yes.”

“To be honest,” Peridot giggled. “I just did it so I could be one of the ‘cool kids’ for once. I figured that since they look cool that’d make me cool.”

“Oh, I expected something a bit deeper.”

“Nah, well,” Peridot scratched her cheek, “I was also hoping that if I were one of ‘the cool kids’ I wouldn’t be picked on so much.”

“Did it work?”

“Nope, if anything it got worse. Apparently my popular peers didn’t have the same tastes as me, they weren’t too into my newly stretched earlobes. And the girl I had a crush on was really grossed-out by my tongue.” Peridot laughed at the memory. “Oh well, I like it and the girl I ended up dating does too.”

Connie fell silent for a moment, she looked down. “Did the bullying ever stop?”

“Yeah,” Peridot’s previously intimidating eyes looked soft, “when I started the twelfth grade it just suddenly stopped.”

“That long, huh,” Connie sighed.

“You have to remember that I was a different person back then. I made myself an easy target and having a prosthetic foot didn’t help either. You’ll be fine. And just keep telling yourself that it gets better.”

“Is high school as bad as the media makes it out to be?”

“Nah, not that bad. I’ve never been shoved into a locker or given a swirlie. Most of what I endured was verbal. Well, that and some jerk kept wedging my lock up into a gap and I always had a hard time getting it out.”

“I’m terrified of starting high school,” it felt weirdly good to tell someone that.

“I was too,” Peridot confessed. “It sucked. But it was also only a few years and after that things got a bit easier. College is actually a better environment. There’s still a ton of work but things are more easygoing there. Just join a club or two, trust me, it’s the best way to make friends and gives you something to do other than schoolwork.”

Connie looked a bit disheartened.

“But Connie, everybody’s school experience is different,” Peridot hoped she could brighten the mood. “You’re already better adjusted than I was so you’ll be fine.”

“I dunno, I’m mostly picked on because I’m always reading alone and because of my glasses. But I don’t want to give up books.”

“Then don’t,” Peridot shrugged. “They make you happy so you shouldn’t give them up. Some of my few regrets are when I gave up stuff I enjoyed to fit in better. I lost what gave me joy and that just made everything worse.”

“I guess,” Connie hadn’t thought of it from that angle. “But I do kind of want to wear contacts. But my parents won’t let me.” Connie sounded a touch like a whiny teenager. “Not only do glasses make me a target they’re also a pain in the butt.”

Confiding in Peridot was so refreshing.

“Yeah, they’re always dirty and smudgy, they fog up, and if you’re a klutz like I am then they’re also covered in scratches.”

“And you get classmates asking to try them on and they get passed around the whole room.”

Peridot laughed “That was the worst! Then they all laugh because they can’t see anything. And some clod would always end up touching the lens with their thumb.”

“That happened to me so many times,” Connie groaned. Then something occurred to her. “But Peridot, you’re an adult so you can get contacts. Why haven’t you?”

“Ah, well, my glasses help me look less like my mother,” Peridot replied.

That took a depressing turn.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, that had nothing to do with you,” Peridot felt bad for killing the mood. “So why the sudden interest in my body mods? Were you thinking of getting a couple yourself?”

“No, I haven’t even thought about piercing my ears,” Connie appreciated the subject change. “So when did you decide to get them?”

“I was sixteen when I started to put some serious thought into it. I’ve always found the punk sub-culture’s aesthetic highly fascinating and eventually decided that I wanted to at least emulate it a little bit. After a year of debating and researching I asked my dad for permission.”

Connie’s eyebrows rose. “And he gave it to you?”

“Yeah, it really shocked me. He said he did because I was so smart about it.” Peridot’s typical lopsided smile showed up on her face. “Go figure. But of course he set a limit to how much I could stretch my ears. And I respected that. Mutual respect, you know.”

“That’s actually pretty cool.”

“So, have you ever thought about trying out something more, adventurous?”

Connie thought for a bit. “Well, I have thought about cutting my hair short a couple of times. Long hair is always in the way, especially when I’m training with Pearl.”

“You should cut it if you want to. And if you don’t like how it looks, hair grows back; I was bald just a few years ago.”

“I worry that I’d look like a boy.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” of course Peridot didn’t see a problem with it, she herself looked like a teenage boy. “And I think you’d look cute with short hair.”

“I guess,” Connie didn’t sound too enthusiastic.

“But remember, in the end it’s your body, your choice. If it worries you that much then wait a bit. There’s no hurry to find yourself.”

“Thank you, for the advice.”

“Any time.”

They smiled at each other then got back to work.

But not before Connie decided to have a cookie after all.


End file.
